Last week we looked briefly at the reading Bible passages in their context, with a focus on switching on our curiosity. Today we’re going to look at another aspect, which also comes through curiosity: spotting connections.
The Bible is rich with imagery. This is partly because the messages were originally given to people living in an oral culture, long before blog posts, word documents or printing presses. Pictures and symbols made it easier for the tellers to tell and the hearers to understand and remember.
We do the same today – a fanfare of trumpets communicates something different to a slow cello solo or a driving electric guitar riff. In films or novels, if someone’s heart is broken there will almost certainly be rain. Dogs often represent faithfulness, red roses symbolise romance, rainbows speak of hope.
Consciously or subconsciously, we spot these things and they help us to interpret scenes and scenarios.
Applying this to the Bible
The biblical examples don’t come as easily to us today, but they are not completely impenetrable. With a bit of practice, we can learn to spot them and let them help us understand more about what we are reading.
Some are easier than others. Some are pointed out for us, while others take a bit more experience to spot. And even some that are pointed out require a good bit of thought!
In Ephesians 5, for example, Paul quotes from Genesis 2, then points out a link that he/God wants us to make:
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. – Ephesians 5:31-32
That is a profound mystery indeed. But when you manage to get your head around it, it is an incredibly beautiful, multi-faceted truth.
And it is as rich for us today as it was for its original hearers. Andrew Wilson has made a video pulling out some of the strands of what it means. Some of the symbolism he uses would not resonate the same with all peoples at all times – it is only relatively recently, for instance, that the tradition of brides wearing white has developed, and only in certain parts of the world. People in other cultures likely see shadows and echoes of the biblical truth showing up differently in their wedding traditions. But have a watch and see how many of the threads you would have thought of:
Check your facts
Of course, we need to make sure that the interpretation we are putting on a symbol really is what God meant it to mean. Above I mentioned rainbows. Many people take them to symbolise hope; rainbow colours in other contexts, such as on flags or lanyards, have been adopted by the LGB community and stand for Pride.
When God set the first rainbow in the sky after the flood, however, he told Noah (repeatedly) that it was there as a symbol of the covenant God was making with all living creatures that there would never again be a flood that destroyed every living creature on earth. He uses the word ‘covenant’ seven times in nine verses (Genesis 9:9-17). This tells us that he had a very specific purpose for this symbol. It wasn’t just to be taken as a nice indication that better times are on their way, and certainly not as a symbol of pride in diverse sexual proclivities. The text simply doesn’t allow us to make that link.
But the rainbow image isn’t repeated anywhere else in Scripture. I’m sure you can think of many symbols that do, though – light/darkness, lambs/sheep/shepherds, vines/vineyards… Bread and wine come up more than you might think, too. And wells – how many times do men meet women at wells, with significant results? (Look at the Old Testament examples, and think about how they might reveal an extra level of depth in the John 4 story.)
No grapes on the vine
The vineyard is a very common image God uses to speak about Israel and, in the New Testament, all of God’s people. So whenever we see vines or vineyards mentioned, it is worth thinking about whether their mention is meant to be symbolic of God’s people.
Of course, vines were also a staple part of life in Bible times. They just were everywhere. In the minor prophets we’ve noticed that vines and fig trees are often used as a kind of shorthand for life flourishing. For example, Joel prophesies about a plague of locusts ravaging the land, and says,
“…the harvest of the field has perished.
The vine dries up;
the fig tree languishes.” (Joel 1:11-12)
Then later, when God has relented and once again restored his people, we see:
“…the pastures of the wilderness are green;
the tree bears its fruit;
the fig tree and vine give their full yield.” (Joel 2:22)
The vines have been nursed back to health and are burgeoning with grapes again. Vines take time and care to flourish, so this abundance speaks of several years of stability in the land, not just a one-off, bumper crop as you might get from an apple tree or field of wheat.
(Having said that, it seems likely to me that the reference to the vine in Joel 1:7 is a metaphorical one, speaking of God’s people, rather than their physical vines. Have a look and see what you think.)
Then in Habakkuk we see the vine mentioned in the prophet’s great declaration of faith:
Though the fig-tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the sheepfold
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Saviour.” (Habakkuk 3:17-18)
How wonderful that just looking at the imagery of vines in the Bible can lead to so many rich seams of thought! If you ever get stuck trying to think of which book of the Bible to study next, consider doing a thematic study like this to reignite your excitement and interest in God’s word.
Signet rings
This week’s download is a question sheet from my Haggai study. It is designed to be used in a small group – hence the suggestion to ‘divide and conquer’ at one point, to save the group some time, but you could easily use it alone. It looks at the mention of a signet ring in Haggai 2, and explores what that might have meant. I hope it makes sense. If you have any questions, drop a note in the comments, or send me an email. I’d love to hear from you.
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This post is part of a series of ideas for how to get started with studying the Bible either for yourself or as a small group leader. Follow this link to find the other posts in the series.
PS All these resources are absolutely free, but if you find them useful, consider making a small donation through my Ko-fi page. Thank you!
